Tag Archives: photos

I adore a simple, crunchy, lightly sweet slice and bake butter cookie. They are lovely rolled in colored sugar, chopped nuts or coconut. For a quick Valentine’s Day treat, I rolled my cookie dough log in homemade colored sugar and shaped it into a heart when it was partially chilled. Once it was completely firm, I just sliced it, revealing darling heart cookies with a red sugar edge. Super simple and a gorgeous little gift! Recipe after the jump. Continue reading →

Last year, I couldn’t think of what to bake for Jeff for Valentine’s Day when I ran across an adorable heart-shaped Whoopie pie/muffin top pan in Michael’s and inspiration struck. He loves red velvet cupcakes so I decided to make him a sort of whoopie-pie-cupcake-sandwich hybrid. The result was gorgeous, super tasty and a less messy version of a cupcake to boot! I used the Magnolia Bakery recipe exactly, so no need to reprint, but be sure to check the cakes often because they don’t take long when they are in a shallow pan.

There’s just something about homemade tomato soup in the winter (yes, even in LA) that warms me to my toes. I was never a fan of the canned stuff growing up, but real tomato soup is the perfect accompaniment to almost anything. When my friend served us this family recipe one night last year, I was blown away by how perfect it was and I’ve been making it two to three times a month since that dinner! Her recipe is a little creamy, a little tangy and a little spicy. It also freezes well which has been a lifesaver during busy months. I recommend pairing it with a grilled pimento cheese sandwich or sweet corn muffins! Continue reading →

I love beautifully wrapped gifts…so much so that my family brings their gifts over to me to wrap for them! I’m not a traditionalist at all when it comes to wrapping and I definitely don’t think that every piece of clothing needs a box, but I do love adding a little flair to each one. This year, since my son learned his letters, I thought labeling each gift and the stockings with a monogrammed letter would be a great learning experience as well. That way he can find a “G” on all his gifts and hand out everyone else’s gifts. Continue reading →

Okay, I’m not gonna lie. Speculaas cookies are a total b#*@h to make…but you can’t deny it, they are so lovely. I tend to shy away from things that take a lot of time, but I’ve had my speculaas molds for about 6 years and they were still brand new. Not anymore! I did it. I spent 12 hours pressing, cutting and baking these puppies to ship out to friends. Now my molds can go back into the cookie cutter drawer for another 6 years until I conveniently forget how tedious they were to make and then I’ll try again! I know I’m not really selling this to you as a cookie recipe, but what good is winter if not to zen out a whole day and make something completely beautiful in the kitchen? Continue reading →

I love weird, quirky and vintage holiday decorations the best, but honestly, I can get behind pretty much anything Christmas-y. The first thing most people notice about my tree is how many ornaments are on it…as if they expected me to be tastefully spare! HA! While all of mine have a lot of meaning and sentimental value, I also believe there can never be “too many ornaments”. It’s Christmas! It’s supposed to be just a little tacky in my humble opinion. After the jump, see how my friend made a gorgeous wreath out of paper around their apartment and check out the ornaments I made for my store this year! Continue reading →

The interesting (er…annoying) thing about nursing a newborn is that you only have a few hours at a time to do anything while they are not eating, and most of that time is spent pumping for the future, changing their diaper or entertaining them. As a maker and a doer, this has been pretty tough for me, so I started trolling Pinterest for all those quick little projects I’ve always wanted to try out to make me feel like I’m accomplishing something. Without further ado, I bring you three DIY projects that you can actually finish while nursing a new baby! Continue reading →